


Ironwood Trees

by drunkenpandaren



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-01-01 04:45:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18328880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drunkenpandaren/pseuds/drunkenpandaren
Summary: Portals over San Fransokyo leads to another world, and a life that has changed the course of a young man. Who knows what sort of Marvelous things Tony Stark brings with him.





	1. Impact Takes Root

Given a choice, Tony Stark would prefer not to be hurled headlong into a wormhole. They were dark and spacey and full of stars and it brought back huge PTSD issues that were both life threatening and draining. But when you sponsored a ton of projects including a highly experimental wormhole generator, your options were limited.

The test started out normally, attend the trip down to San Fransokyo, check up with the inventors who were working on it, and watching everything go to great googly moogly shit. With alarm klaxons blaring, the generator was screaming as the thudding in Tony’s ears could be heard. Friday formed the suit around him instantly, the spare backup suit he carried with him everywhere, and here he was driving the portal device up into the sky.

In a flash of light, the wormhole opened up, and Tony found himself being propelled further up into the sky. “Friday call Pepper,” said Tony in a tone of absolute calm not going to panic nope nope nope.

There was no answer, maybe Pepper was somewhere away from her phone at the moment but without warning the light swallowed him up.

Tony cursed rapidly as he tumbled through the skies as the end of the wormhole’s event horizon appeared, and he was ejected high above a city. “Friday?” he exclaimed in alarm, his suit having gone offline.

Careening downwards like a human rocket, he manually employed the emergency chute which exploded outwards and caught, and like a limp, iron-rag, started to slow his descent. Not rapidly enough though as he careened towards a playground.

“Shit,” said Tony seconds before impact. The impact tore apart the playground as he bounced several times and rolled to a stop.

With a groan, he rolled over, knocking some of the playground equipment that had piled atop him over. “Friday? Friday you there?”

For a moment he was greeted with silence before a voice replied. “Yes Mr. Stark, Apologies for going offline.”

“Friday do a systems check,” said Tony with a pained groan, trying to sit up. Servos protested as Friday began her systems check as he raised the helmet facemask with considerable effort. “Where’d we land?”

“Japan,” replied Friday. “Specifically the greater Tokyo area.”

“Huh…” said Tony for a moment as he sat there, and decided now was the perfect time to lay back down.

No sooner than he did so, than the sound of a small body could be heard and Tony tilted his head to see a small child of about four maybe five, with messy dark hair which was almost green in color. The kid looked like he had been bullied, and miraculously Tony had missed him when he impacted. The kid was standing there, leaning over.

“Hey mister, are you alright?” asked the kid.

“I’ll live, I just need some samosas and a hot dog.” said Tony. “Do me a favor kid and push the wood off my legs?”

The kid nodded as he walked over and pulled the wood off with surprising strength for a kid that young. Tony re-evaluated his thoughts as he said, “Thanks kid. Where am I anyhow?”

“Musutafu Japan,” said the kid. “Is this your Quirk? Armor and hitting the ground really hard?”

“Quirk? I don’t have… whatever that is,” said Tony as Friday booted back up and with considerable effort, pushed the huge chunk of debris off him. The kid exclaimed, “Wowwwwww!”

“Who are you mister?” asked the kid. “I’m Izuku.”

“I’m Iron Man,” said Tony, placing the debris to the side. “You mind showing me to the nearby convenience store? I just took a trip through a wormhole and I am in serious need for a greasy 7-11 hotdog.”

“Oh yeah!” Exclaimed Izuku. “There’s a food store in the next street over. C’mon Iron Man!”

“Cute kid,” said Tony as he walked after Izuku, ignoring the pain in his body from the impact.

The first thing Tony realized when he gathered up a pile of food, was that people weren’t even staring. They were acting like a man walking around in a tin suit was normal. Secondly, his credit card didn’t work. Thirdly, no one heard of Stark Industries. Which meant…

“Great,” said Tony, eating the five cent candy that Izuku paid for instead of that delicious looking sandwich. “No money, alternate universe Japan, I’m stuck here until I can get back into the sky again and look around.”

“Sorry, I only get five thousand yen for allowance,” said Izuku as he offered Tony the 500 yen soda he had bought.

“Keep it kid, I’m not going to take your food. I’ve been in worse situations than this.” said Tony. “So, why were those people not looking at me funny? I just fell out of the sky and trashed my suit.”

“They figured it was your Quirk,” said Izuku. “People have superpowers in our world. It’s been like this for years.”

“Huh.” Tony felt a little out of his depth. Superpowers? Everyone? “So who are your heroes by the way?”

“Well there’s Present Mic, and there’s Thirteen and ALL MIGHT!” Izuku’s eyes shone with excitement. “Have you heard of All Might before, Iron Man?”

“Can’t say I have,” replied Tony and the crushed expression on the kids’ face made him backpedal. “Tell me about him?”

“He’s the greatest hero ever! He saved over two dozen people in a night when a building collapsed. He’s the Symbol of Peace and someday I’ll be a hero as strong as him!” Izuku proclaimed. “Though… I don’t have a Quirk.”

“... if it makes you feel any better, when I said I didn’t have a Quirk? I meant it,” said Tony. “This suit? Friday and everything? I built it.”

“You did?” said Izuku, surprised. “So wait, so the suit is made of iron?”

“Technically it’s an alloy that’s more along the lines of titanium than iron but… yeah, I built it all. And they call me Iron Man. There’s more heroes where I come from too. Thor, Spider-man…”

“And they have Quirks?” asked Izuku.

“Well Thor’s a god,” and Tony airquoted with his fingers. “And Underoos was bitten by a genetically modified spider and got powers.” He wasn’t going to broach the subject of Captain America, the memory still bitter in his mind.

“I’ve never heard of people GAINING powers,” said Izuku. “But you built your suit. Could… you build me one?”

“NO. Because that would be irresponsible of me. Ask when you’re sixteen and prone to making mistakes I would do and avoid making those mistakes. It’s a fine grey line.” Didn’t he say this to Parker a few months ago? He remembered saying it and look what happened there.

“It’s just… you can’t be a hero in this society without powers, and I have no Quirk,” replied Izuku, downcast.

Tony felt bad for the kid and turned to him. “Hey, no one can tell you no if you set your mind to it. It’s bad advice, but work towards your dreams. Don’t let them… be… memes, I got nothing. The point is, don’t let yourself become stagnant and always work towards something important. And then take it.” said Tony.

“Sir? Power reserves are at 32%.” said Friday. “I recommend turning off all non-essential systems. I’ve also calculated the exit point which we appeared previously.”

“Do that Friday.” As Tony finished his candy he said, “I should probably find a way back to my world. I’d hate to see what happens when Pepper finds out I fell through another Wormhole.”

“What if you can’t go back home?” asked Izuku. “What then?”

“Then I just find a place and build tech till I figure out how to get home,” said Tony. “Looks like that entrance point is still somewhat stable. Look, kid. Don’t let people bully you, show them what you’re made of. Okay?”

Izuku nodded, tearing up. “I’ll miss you Iron Man.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” said Tony as his repulsors flared up. “I’ll see you again.”

With that, he flew into the air. “Friday, calculate the entrance point velocity.”

“Found. Routing thruster power.”

Snapping a salute to Izuku, he took off into the air, leaving Izuku staring up into the sky at the rapidly diminishing figure, which then vanished in a corona of light.

Izuku watched him go, and with a determined sip of his soda, proclaimed, “I’m going to become Iron Lad!”

=====

Tony tumbled through the wormhole, seemingly out of control. “Friday, prepare for exit,” called out Tony as they hit the event horizon.

Exploding out into the skies in a halo of light, Tony’s heart sank at the sight of the town below him. “Friday this isn’t San Fransokyo!”

This time, Tony came down more gently, his suit running on rapidly deteriorating power as he landed at the same playground, but this time the playground was rebuilt with brand new things.

Looking around, Tony retracted the suit into a suitcase and brushed off his suit jacket. “Well… looks like I’m not home yet.”

Wandering into town, he passed by the same shop, but something seemed different as he headed into the city proper. It wasn’t long however, until he turned the corner and found himself at a local elementary. “I wonder if the kid is still here,” said Tony half to himself.

A sudden explosion made him look up as a young body collapsed on the ground nearby. Rushing over, he bent over. “Hey, you okay?” he asked.

The familiar shock of dark hair showcased the kid from long ago, but this time his hands and feet were donned in metallic cases. Flight thrusters, he realized as a sneering bully and his friends laughed at him.

“Deku!” Shouted the ringleader. “You should know better than to try to show off! What a pathetic loser!”

Tony’s expression darkened as the kid opened his eyes and gasped. “Iron Man?”

“Hey kid,” said Tony, taking in stock of Izuku. He was a few years older now, and he was dressed in that work of his which seemed to be based on his work. Surprisingly, to his shock, it was a very crude version of his own repulsor technology. How did this kid manage to figure that out? He must be one smart cookie this kid. “Who’s the windbag?”

Bakugou snarled a little at the insult as Izuku explained, “That’s Kacchan, he’s my friend.”

“Some friend,” snorted Tony. “Friday.”

Standing up, Friday enveloped Tony as his battered suit formed around him. “Now then kids,” said Tony, making the bullies back up in surprise. “Who’s first?”

Two of them ran off as the kid with the blonde hair snarled. “You’ll still be a Quirkless loser, Deku, remember that!” Before he ran off as well.

Returning the suit back to normal, he turned to Izuku. “Deku?” he asked. “Like the tree?”

“Tree sapling actually, Kacchan uses it as a way to insult me,” said Izuku, reaching down and removing the boot. Tony knelt down and picked it up. “That’s a stabilizer boot,” he said. “I haven’t quite gotten it to work properly.”

“It’s good work,” said Tony. “How long have you been studying?”

“Since we met,” said Izuku as Tony helped the kid to his feet. “We met about four years ago, and since then I’ve been studying technology. I’m not very good though.”

“Are you kidding me? This is pretty decent, for someone your age. Granted I had already made my first repulsor tech by the time I was five but hey.” said Tony. “Where’s your workshop? I can help you out.”

Tossing the boot back to Izuku, he had this surprised look on his face. “You mean it?” he asked. “Well okay! It’s this way.”

The lab turned out to be Izuku’s house, and his mother was a very nice woman who seemed happy about meeting the man who inspired Izuku. “He had never been interested in technology before you showed up years ago, but then he came running in shouting he wanted to be Iron Lad,” said Inko Midoriya, handing Tony a drink as he watched Izuku show him around. Being the multitasker, he could keep up with Izuku’s demonstrations of gadgets he had built.

“Well, to be honest, I get that a lot.” said Tony, taking a drink of the Japanese soda. “So Inko, can I call you Inko? How long has he been inventing like this?”

“About four years now. And Izuku is 9 now.” said Inko as the pair watched Izuku rework the boot. “That was a good thing you did for him, Mr. Stark. Er, Tony. When he said you came from another world and had no Quirk, I didn’t know what to think. But you inspired him, gave him hope. It’s something I’m ashamed I didn’t do beforehand. He wanted to be just like All Might, and I crushed his dreams by not supporting him.”

“And he now wants to be me,” said Tony. “Well, I’ve got the resources, he doesn’t. Tell you what. I’ll try to figure out some improvements to his design that he can follow, give Izuku a head start in Stark technology. And maybe find him a better friend than the Bakugou kid.”

“I admit their relationship isn’t very good, but Izuku does need more friends in general.” said Inko. “What did you have in mind?”

“Give me a laptop and an hour and I’ll figure it out,” said Tony with a grin.

=====

“The Young Inventors Expo?” asked Izuku as he and Tony showed up at the door. “Why are we here?”

“To get you some peers,” said Tony, his newly washed suit pressed and crisp, his suit in his hand in briefcase format. “C’mon, let’s show you around.”

As the pair headed inside, Tony began pointing out a few new things. “The big thing about the world of tech kid, is to make sure you have friends and contacts. People to trust and rely on.”

“I see, so that’s why you told me to bring my stuff,” said Izuku, looking at his own briefcase. “And the suit?”

“A power suit, no matter what kind of suit it is, will leave a good impression.” said Tony as they stopped nearby a tech school’s showcase. There, a girl with long ringlets in her hair was showing off additions similar to Izuku’s but much more clunky. “That girl. I got a good feeling about her. Let’s go check out the competition.”

“Behold!” Cried out Mei Hatsume as she fired up her ignition and hovered a few feet. “Just a few more months of work and the slimdown process will be complete!”

“You’re ahead of this girl,” said Tony to Izuku. “You based your designs off mine.”

“The stabilization of a flight pack would leave a big weight to the armor,” said Izuku, muttering out loud. “Not to mention the triggering mechanism could potentially be damaged on liftoff, meaning the stabilization could be corrected with repulsors--HUH?”

Mei was staring at him in the face, several inches away. “What? Um… sorry for interrupting…!”

But rather than get mad, Mei grinned. “You saw the problems too? I’ve been trying to figure out the slimdown process as well, but it’s taking time! Are you an inventor as well?”

“Um…” said Izuku, looking up at Tony who nodded. “Yeah, sort of.” said Izuku, opening his case and showing off the slender bright repulsor jets. “I was inspired by Mr. Stark here and I built this thing here.”

“Can I touch it?” At Izuku’s nod, she picked up a gauntlet and checked it over. “This tech I’ve never seen before, and you came up with it?”

“I did, he just made his own,” said Tony. “Tony Stark, CEO Stark Industries.”

“Never heard of you. But if you’re saying is true… can I try it on?” begged Mei. Izuku nodded and she practically snatched it out of the case.

Mei put it on and giggled maniacally. “Oh wow, it’s got a good fit, and a good weight. The balance is almost perfect! Whaddya say? Want to join forces and really bring the tech into the next generation?”

“She knows her stuff kid,” said Tony. “Go on.”

Swallowing, Izuku nodded. “All right. Let’s work together. Glad to have you on board, miss um…?”

“Mei, Mei Hatsume. You won’t regret it!”

=====

Izuku looked around at the much more spacious lab space. When Mei said she had resources, she wasn’t kidding. Tony however was also mentally making some notes and he said, “Seems like this will be good for the two of you.”

“I’ll say!” Exclaimed Izuku. Turning to Tony, he said, “Mr. Stark? Are you still trying to get home by any chance?”

“Yeah, but seems like the wormholes in a loop, so until I do the math to fix it I’ll be slingshotting around.” said Tony. “I could probably stick around for a while, help out. If the math is correct, they’re not going to miss me for very long.”

“What’s this about a wormhole?” asked Mei.

“Mr. Stark’s from another world,” said Izuku. “He’s the one who taught me that I can be a hero without a Quirk.”

“Takes time and effort. And don’t worry too much about it. Just don’t make the mistakes I do and you’ll be fine.” said Tony. “Could be worse. There’s a guy in my world who has the superpower of Gun and another who turns into a big raging hulk monster when he gets angry.”

“Huh,” said Mei with a Quirky smile. “All right, well, let’s see this suit of yours!”

“It needs fixing but it’s still functional,” said Tony, tabbing his suitcase as the suit crawled up onto him, locking into place. Mei stared in wonder at the design as she examined it, her Quirk going crazy with microscopic study.

“This is incredible!” Exclaimed Mei, examining Tony from all sides. “I’ve never seen this kind of blend of alloy before, I think with time we could replicate it!”

“That’s another thing I’ve been worried about, the price of the designs can be real expensive,” said Izuku. “We need to figure out a income.”

“Leave that to me,” said Tony as he let Mei detach his gauntlet and put it on. Stepping free from the suit, Friday held it up for Mei to look at while he said, “I can get the seed money for this.”

“Awesome, sounds like a plan!” Exclaimed Mei eagerly.

“As for the alloy, we’ll have to find some similar design for it, or just make our own. The power source of the suit however, is something I’ll have to build for you.” added Tony. He tapped his chest where the arc generator sat. It’s original purpose was long gone, thanks to the life-saving surgery he had undergone, but he still kept it as a reminder.

“Build smarter not harder,” said Izuku with a nod. “Good idea.”

:”All right, who’s up for lunch? Your mom lent me her card, we should get something to eat.” said Tony.

=====

It was a lively procession, Mei and Izuku trading ideas while Tony skimmed through the local stock. Construction, medical, all of these things were taking a high amount of value but with Quirks, it was difficult to figure out which one of these things to invest in.

As he looked through the phone he had brought with him, he tapped into his network. “Friday, bring up the local ailing companies that are about to go under.”

“Whatcha doing Mr. Stark?” asked Izuku as Tony worked at the holographic systems, something Mei keenly looked interested in as he discarded several that didn’t look promising.

“Looking for a business to invest in. Ah, here we go. This one. Uraraka Construction. It’s small, but it’s going under. I figure, with the right tech, and seed money, we can turn it into a big business and fund the sheer amount of materials you two are going to need.” said Tony. “Friday, set up an appointment with the head of the company.”

“Yes Mr. Stark.” replied Friday.

“So is Friday a personal assistant or a AI?” asked Mei, stars in her eyes.

“Both? She was a backup after JARVIS became Vision, but I haven’t had a chance to rebuild JARVIS.” Tony sat back and took a bite of his shawarma. “So I’ve been using Friday ever since.”

“Mr. Stark, you’re kind of scary when you’re being smart,” said Izuku with a little nervous grin.

“I call it being prepared,” replied Tony as he finished eating. “Now c’mon, we’ve got a Uber to catch to get across town.”

The ride across town actually was to Uraraka Construction’s Branch Office, where the company head was puzzling over the sudden addition to his schedule. “Honey,” he called out. “Did you pencil in a Mr. Tony Stark for 2pm?”

“No, why?” asked his wife, coming into the room. Looking over the shoulder, she frowned. “Well, that’s strange. I guess I did? It’s right there, from my computer.”

“Well, I guess I should meet him. He should be here in a few minutes. Ah, but Ochako is here, we should probably make sure that she’s busy. Where is she?”

“I hope she’s not in the construction yard,” said his wife as the office door opened and in walked Tony, flanked by Mei and Izuku who looked around in surprise at the spartan office. “Ah, welcome!”

“Tony Stark, Stark Enterprises,” said Tony, offering a bow and handshake to the couple who shook and bowed back.

“Philip Uraraka, and my wife Megumi Uraraka. We’re thankful for the visit Mr. Stark,” said Philip as the pair welcomed him to the office. “I must say, I’m a little surprised at your visit; we didn’t expect someone from a company to be here.”

The pair exchanged worried glances. Was this about the current buyout offers that were being circulated around the office? Megumi asked, “Mr. Stark, I have to ask. If this is about the current buyouts that many people have been offering, Uraraka Construction has really nothing to give but our current workforce…”

“I understand that,” replied Tony. “Which is why… I’m offering a partnership, instead of a buyout. Stark Enterprises is a business venture, one, founded solely by me, for people who don’t have Quirks, like Izuku and myself, to better fulfill society’s needs. And to help support those who need better business.”

The pair exchanged surprised glances. “What do you mean by that?” asked Philip.

“In this society, Quirks are everything, correct? Have a strong Quirk, you become a hero, or become a successful businessman, etcetera. But what about those without Quirks? What about those 20% who don’t? What about the whole 60% of those who don’t go to a hero school? What then? I propose… Uraraka Construction sponsors those who can help; to fund these two brilliant inventors with capital. And in return, get the best support items for your work, construction, any future hero work your daughter will ever need to go to school for.” said Tony, dangling the hook.

“It’s a win win situation. All we ask… is for a chunk of seed money, and time for these children to invent, and your patience. And a moment of demonstration of what Stark Technology can do for you.” said Tony, finishing with a bow.

“Dad?” The group turned to look at a young girl, who stood at the doorway. “Are you selling the company again?”

“It’s not a sale,” said Philip, shaking his head as he went over to Ochako and patted her on the head. “It’s a partnership. Your dad… is supporting heroes again.”

Looking up to Tony, he said, “You have a deal Mr. Stark. I don’t know where you came from, but you sound honest. And I can see it in your eyes. You’ve got a good heart. But please, prioritize my daughter first. She plans to go to Yuuhi, and make money for us to give us a easy life. I want her to be the hero she needs to be.”

“Your daughter wants to be a hero?” said Tony. Turning to Mei and Izuku, he asked, “You two up to the challenge?”

“Of course, who do you take us for?” asked Mei.

“It’ll be tricky. Knowing her Quirk, running tests, we’ll have to figure out the balance, and the materials and her skills first… but we can do it!” Exclaimed Izuku. “I promise, we’ll make her the best hero outfitted with support items we can manage!”

Ochako’s eyes shone. “Really? Thanks! I’m Ochako Uraraka, and you?”

“Mei Hatsume, and this is Izuku Midoriya! We’re basically Mr. Stark’s sidekicks. He’s the Invincible Iron Man.” said Mei with a grin. “He’s Quirkless and he’s a superhero.”

Ochako’s eyes went wide as Tony smirked. “Don’t need a Quirk to be a hero. As a former friend once told me: I can do this all day. Now then: I believe…” And his suitcase leaped out of his hands and formed into his suit, startling the family. “I’ve got a suit of technology to demonstrate.”

=====

A week had passed and the kids had settled into their new home.

A small warehouse had been purchased thanks to the seed money he had gotten from Uraraka Construction and a little thank you gift had been built as a result and sent over. The reply had been swift: several thank you cards from their exhausted staff and a request for more instruction manuals.

Philip had been good to his word, and kept the details of his work out of the media, despite his company gaining better press. Tony had designed the first of his little gifts to the young Ochako who he had been told and shown to have a zero-gravity five-point Quirk. Meaning she could make herself, and other things float.

Floating meant flying. Flying meant repulsor technology.

Tony knew that no one alive could replicate the technology that sat in his chest. And Uraraka’s dad knew nothing of the systems or the special element that he took three days after the week had passed to rebuild. In short? He was in prime form, and it felt good.

Tony Stark, billionaire philanthropist, was doing good things to people who deserved it.

As he was walking out of a convenience store, pocketing Inko’s credit card and resolving to borrow some cash next time once he got some documentation going, Tony chewed on the 7-11 churro and marveled at how good Japanese corner food was for about ten seconds.

That was about all it took for the store window to implode around him, ruining his churro. Luckily, it was made out of glass that wouldn’t shred him to bits when it imploded, but brick and mortar rained down around Tony as his heart raced, and his mind flashed back suddenly to the missiles screaming around him in Afghanistan.

He dove to the side as a villain raced overhead: a misshapen bull like villain on a rampage with some kind of minotaur greek like motif, carrying a sack of cash. From the shouts of the police chasing him, he had run over the nearby store and Tony had been in the area when he knocked through the buildings.

“Get out of my way moo!” Exclaimed the villain as he snarled, smashing up cars and generally slamming into walls. Trying to turn on a dime, he couldn’t do as the villain continued to slam into walls.

More and more debris rained down around Tony and he covered his head. “Friday!” He shouted and in the din of the shouting, he could see the faint shimmer of his suit coming at him. He reached out but there was a huge chunk of stone coming and he ducked under, the moment Friday slammed downwards.

=====

“Reports coming in as a large bull villain rampaged down in Jakka Shopping Center has destroyed most of the shops. There are civilians trapped under the rubble. Rescue Heroes are on route as well as First Responder Heroes…” reported the television as Inko watched the television.

“Oh my, this is serious today,” said Inko as Izuku walked in the door. “Izuku, are you home?”

“Yes mom, where’s Mr. Stark?”

“He’s not home yet. Didn’t he come back with you?” asked Inko.

“... casualties may be in the tens or twenties by now… wait what is that?” The camera panned upwards as Friday soared overhead, circling a huge stack of rubble. “It looks like a suit of support items. Could it be a new hero has arrived…?”

“That’s Friday!” Exclaimed Izuku as his phone rang. “Friday?”

“Izuku, come quick, it’s Tony, he’s trapped under rubble!” The voice was Mei’s, and it was full of panic.

“I have to go mom! Mr. Stark needs me!” Exclaimed Izuku, dashing out the door.

Izuku ran, his feet carrying him as fast as possible down the road. Finding the road blocked by police and first responders, he ducked through the crowds and fought his way to the front. “Let me through, let me through, someone I know is stuck under rubble!” He shouted. “Let me through, Mr. Stark!”

“Kid, stop it, you’re not helping shouting like that!” Exclaimed a Hero, holding onto him before Izuku could cross the police line. “The villain is contained but there’s damage and fires everywhere. You could get hurt. And there’s that thing up there!”

Izuku looked up at where Friday was circling the rubble and he knew that huge pile was where Tony was. “That’s where he is, I have to go there!”

“You can’t, let the pros handle this!” Exclaimed the man.

“I can help, I have to! Mr. Stark is everything to me! I have to save him!” shouted Izuku, flailing in the hero’s grip.

“Hold on a moment,” said another hero, and Izuku paused as the hero Power Loader walked up. “Kid, you know who’s under there? How?”

“It’s hard to explain but… Mei! Mei over here!” Exclaimed Izuku, waving at her as she pushed to the front. “Mei, tell them.”

“I saw him get buried, when the attack happened,” said Mei. “But I was too far away. The support items overhead, my uh… my babies? They’re marking his location. But you have to let us dig. Please, he’s our friend.”

Power Loader sighed as he turned to the man. “Trickstar, get the other Rescue Heroes. Get every person in on this. That thing could come down on itself at any moment if we start digging recklessly.” He turned to the pair of kids. “You two kids shouldn’t be here, it’s not safe.”

“We want to help,” said Izuku. “Mei and I have equipment that can help with any situation. Friday!”

At this, Friday swooped down and locked into Izuku’s arms and legs, surprising Power Loader. “It’s all right,” said Mei. “We know what we’re doing.”

“Who are you kids?” asked Power Loader as Izuku locked Friday into place, the helmet locking around his head.

Izuku looked at him and said, “Me? I’m Iron Lad. And I’m going to save Mr. Stark.”

=====

Tony couldn’t breathe.

It was one thing, experiencing near claustrophobic levels of suffocation again.

It was another, reliving the worst day of your life.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, he could almost hear Pepper chiding him as memories faded through his mind as he struggled to stay awake. Concussion, he realized, from the falling debris. He would be in the hospital if he survived this. Not likely, considering everything.

What a way to go. Buried alive, holding a smushed churro.

“Friday, are you there?” asked Tony, as his glasses flickered to life, the hazy glow of his optics flickering in and out before dying. “Great.”

“You’re dying Stark,” said Tony to himself. “Or at least, going to suffocate before dying. Oxygen levels won’t last much in this situation. I don’t feel a draft, this is an air tight tomb. I guess I shouldn’t talk much either.”

As he shifted in the rubble, he found he could move as he grimaced. “Broken ankle… better than a broken leg. That’s light, considering everything I’ve done to myself.”

The sound of motion from his side caught his attention as a form moved and he reached into his pocket. Fumbling with his phone, he managed to switch on the light as a dusty young kid about Izuku’s age was uncurling from the debris. “What happened?” he asked.

“Buried alive kid,” replied Tony. “Don’t hyperventilate on me.”

“... man… what a way to go,” coughed the kid, as his skin literally uncrackled from sharp rough edges into soft flesh. “I was…” he coughed again. “Getting a present for my friend and…”

“I know kid. Try to relax.”

Tony shifted his position to let the kid relax against him. Surprisingly, he wasn’t injured, a benefit of his Quirk he supposed. “What’s your name kid?”

“Eijiro Kirishima, what’s yours?” asked the kid with dark red hair.

“Tony Stark.”

“Cool name, sounds manly.” Eijiro coughed and Tony couldn’t tell if he was coughing up blood or not in the darkness. “Got a Quirk that can get us out of this place?”

“Don’t have one kid, I’m Quirkless. And from another dimension where people don’t usually have superpowers.” replied Tony. If he was going to die, he was going to confess. That’s how it goes, right?

“Eh? Really? Quirkless I get but another dimension? You’re pulling my leg.”

“My world got invaded by aliens 3 years ago,” replied Tony. “How weird can that be? Didn’t see that on the news right?”

“Well… no…” said Eijiro. “Men shouldn’t lie after all. It’s not cool.”

“Well there you have it.” said Tony. “So what’s your Quirk?”

“Hardening. Used it to survive the falling debris.” said Eijiro.

“Huh, so you’re like… one part Banner then mixed with Roger’s shield,” replied Tony. “He turns into a giant green rage monster and Roger’s shield is made up of Vibranium, a metal that can literally absorb any vibrations in the world.”

“No kidding? So then… I’m super tough in comparison?” asked Eijiro.

“Probably. If we get to the lab, we can run some tests.” Tony sighed. “If we get out of here that is.”

Eijiro nodded. “I guess… we wait for rescue then huh…”

“Yeah… well… while we’re here… why don’t I tell you about my world…?” said Tony. A bad idea, considering their air supply but… might as well… they might not be rescued so…

“Sure… who do you want to tell me about?” asked Eijiro.

“A guy named Steve Rogers. Captain America. He once told me, ‘I can do this all day’ in a fight. The guy won’t quit… and neither should we… so don’t quit while we wait to be rescued.”

And Tony started to tell him about how Captain America fought the Red Skull and punched Hitler while he was at it, waiting for their air to run out.

======

Rescuing citizens from the debris was harder than it looked.

It was like a puzzle, removing those who had been buried under big piles, small piles, collapsed buildings, etcetera. The bull villain had done a number on the surroundings and Izuku’s arms burned even with Friday augmenting his strength.

“Izuku you should rest,” said Mei as he lifted another piece of rubble from the pile burying Tony. “Let the Rescue Heroes take over.”

“I can’t… I have to save him…” panted Izuku.

“Izuku…” Mei sighed as she adjusted her power gloves and started lifting again.

“Never seen a kid so determined before,” said one of the rescue heroes; a pro hero named Mr. Brave who was taking a momentary break.

“This Mr. Stark must be real important to him. Which begs the question: who’s power suit is the kid wearing?” wondered Power Loader, the Excavation Hero watching him work. It was clearly made for an adult, the suit practically falling off the smaller boy like it was an oversized t-shirt.

This unknown Mr. Stark must have made it.

An unknown in the field. An unlicensed hero perhaps? A support creator? But… this technology… Power Loader rubbed his chin as Izuku lifted another large chunk of fallen cement over his head and tossed it to the side. If it was worn by an adult, this task would be done with by now. But a child, however ill-fitting it was, it seemed to obey him with some user friendliness. An AI?

Putting down his water, Power Loader went over and said, “Okay, we should be able to break through from here. Stand back kid.”

Thankfully, Izuku did so as Power Loader began to drill through the last remaining chunk of wall that had fallen. And soon, daylight. As he broke through, Izuku called out, “Mr. Stark, are you okay?”

The reply was faint, but snarky.

“Well… I could use another churro… and Eijiro needs a new Alien Queen Stuffie but we’re fine.”

=====

Tony never wanted to be buried under rubble again. That went double for if he was in his suit.

Wrapped in a rescue blanket, Tony breathed in the sweet oxygen as medics checked Eijiro over who insisted he was fine, he was a strong boy with a strong Quirk, check over the man who didn’t have a Quirk first.

“Tony!” Oh there was Inko who had run all the way down to the attack site, and was hugging him now. “Tony I was so worried!”

“Sorry for worrying you Inko,” replied Tony, patting the woman on the head. “I’ll try not to be buried under ten tons of rubble tomorrow. OW!”

She lowered her hand from swatting him as she said, “Tony Stark, I don’t believe you. You survive the worst villain rampage in Jakka Shopping Center in ages and the first thing you say is that?”

“You sound like Pepper,” griped Tony.

“Well maybe Pepper was right,” replied Inko with a scowl before her expression softened. She turned towards where Izuku and Mei slept sitting up, covered in a rescue blanket. “They really saved you huh?”

“They did. Friday helped but… I’m proud of the tyke.” Tony smiled. “I’m gonna stick around for a while this time, Inko. If you don’t mind. I want to do some building, maybe make sure that Izuku gets settled, starts building on his own, before I attempt going home again.”

“I think that’s for the best.” said Inko. “I got a cab on the way here.” Tony made a face. “I know you hate cabs but the Uber and Lyft was out of service in this area. No one will drive with a villain in the area.”

Eijiro looked between the pair. “Are you two dating?” he asked.

“No! No, god no. No. I’m… Inko’s my landlady. And Izuku’s kind of my protege? Hard to explain but I’m taken. Pepper and I were… well, we were back together and then the wormhole happened and… well… you know.” replied Tony, looking guilty.

“Oh, yeah, manly men shouldn’t cheat on their girlfriends,” said Eijiro with a sage nod.

Inko burst out laughing and Tony hung his head.

=====

“How curious. This is quite the report. And you say that when the task was complete and the man was rescued, the suit of armor just… flew off?” asked Nedzu, the principal of Yuuhi High School looking over the police report.

“That’s right,” said Power Loader. “I was in the area when the call came for Rescue Heroes, and I saw the boy using the support items. He didn’t have a Quirk either, so I didn’t call him in for use of a Quirk either.”

“An unknown man, this Mister Stark, Tony if his name is to be believed. A boy using unknown support items which is a whole mobile suit of armor…” Nedzu’s eyes shone with interest. “This is most interesting! A game is afoot! And what of the girl? This Mei Hatsume?”

“She was one of the children I had my eye on at the Young Inventors Expo,” replied Power Loader. “I was thinking of offering her a temporary Study Visa here at Yuuhi, to prepare her for the Support Course.”

“Do it. And if this boy is also able to build, offer him the same Study Visa.” said Nedzu. “Let us see what amazing things this day brings. And keep an eye on how many pies this Tony Stark manages to bake?”

“Yes sir.” As Power Loader walked away, Nedzu glanced in the direction of the wormhole which he knew sat there, invisible to all but he saw it open that many years ago, and once again a couple of weeks ago.

“So… Mister Tony Stark… what amazing and Marvelous Things will you bring us next?”

=====

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief as he put up his book bag. Nursing a aching shoulder from the hard labour he had done that week was the least of his worries as Katsuki had been glaring daggers at him all day. The boy hadn’t said a word but he would probably corner him later.

At this point, Izuku just wanted to go home, and see Hatsume and Eijiro and Ochako and Mei and…

“Deku…”

The tone of Katsuki’s voice was… level. It wasn’t raised or anything, even with the insulting tone. He stood there, hands shoved into his pockets. A sign that Katsuki wasn’t acting aggressive. “Hey. Deku, just… can we talk?”

“Kaachan, uh… sure.”

“Walk with me.”

Leading Izuku out of the room, the pair headed to the roof where Katsuki closed the door. “So… Iron Lad huh? Making yourself out to being a big huge hero huh?”

“Huh? Kaachan I... “ said Izuku but he was cut off.

“That’s something you pulled,” said Katsuki suddenly. “Rescuing your mentor. That… was admirable, Deku. You’re always doing this stuff, all the time even when we were kids.”

Nine year old eyes met nine year old eyes and for once, Izuku found something in Katsuki’s eyes that he never saw before: respect.

“Hey, Deku. You think you want to be a hero? Well… so am I. So you’d better invent cool stuff for me too, okay?” exclaimed Katsuki with a smirk. “That way, I can become the top of the hero charts!”

Izuku grinned as he walked over and held out his fist, to which Katsuki bumped back. For a moment, the pair were 4 years old, before they got Quirks once more. Before everything started once more.

“You got it,” said Izuku. “Want to see the lab?”

“Fuck yeah,” said Katsuki. “Let’s see this power suit of yours nerd.”

“Technically it’s Mr. Stark’s, but I’ll introduce you to Friday.” said Izuku with a laugh as the pair left the roof.

=====

Months passed in between this stay, and Tony was prepared to make another attempt at heading home.

Introducing Izuku to Hatsume was the best thing in the world, the girls genius surprising him. Already they had built a quarter of the Suit, respectively codenamed Iron Lad and Iron Girl.  
Ochako came by on the train every couple of weeks, sleeping over during the weekends at Mei’s house to test her new equipment. With some clearance for schoolyard study, they were able to build some equipment to negate her nausea, let alone subdue most of the side effects. The effect of zero-g however was still out of their grasp, and more training would be needed. To that end, Tony had Friday take her up into the suit and start pinwheeling Ochako until she almost got sick.

Eijiro Kirishima had also become a fixture in the kids lives. He had become a fast friend of the kids and had come around. Tony was collecting kids, like it was some kind of Avengers Preschool and he had nicknamed them as such. He refused to give them codenames, which was fine with them since they all wanted to find their own codenames. But Eijiro, or as Kirishima as he wanted to be called since it was more manly, barely asked for support items unless it was Really Cool and Manly. So Tony fed him a few stories about Vibranium and Kirishima was on board with the idea, which had Tony tracking down a metal that was the closest to Vibranium in this world and building him, a goddamn shield.

He was going to kill Rogers for corrupting this boy, because Kirishima’s favorite line during a punch up had become “I could do this all day”.

Katsuki had become either the best or worst motivator Izuku could ever have. The boy kept breaking everything he was handed, and every support item he used was summarily used and milled. But the inspiration flowed and together, the group was working to get everything worked out in the end. Izuku was being pushed to his creative limits, and with more and more research, Tony was starting to see what was happening: he was picking up a miniature Avengers team.

Finally, on the evening of the fifth month, Tony perfected his modifications with Friday’s help. “All right,” he said, suiting up once more. “If I manage to get home, remember what I taught you kids. Don’t let others push you around Izuku for being Quirkless. Show them that your brain is as huge as a superpower. And Mei, make sure he gets into that hero course of his. And watch his back. Keep developing for Uraraka Construction, make sure Ochako gets training on her zero-g and for god's sake, don’t fight any villains unless needed. That goes double for Kirishima. And triple for Katsuki.”

The pair nodded. “See you around Mr. Stark,” said Izuku, giving him a hug.

Tony nodded as he hugged back and said, “Take care of yourself. Friday, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted 4/2/2019  
> Series: My Hero Academia/Iron Man/Marvel MCU
> 
> A experiment of sorts, to see what sort of things Tony could do in a situation in the MHA universe.
> 
> I'd like to thank the Hugo awards for spurning the publication of this fanfic. Without your support for Archive of Our Own's legitimacy, I would never have released this fic.


	2. Years Gone By

The whirl of energy seemed longer this time, as Tony emerged once more, this time over the building that had housed the lab. “Looks like I’m not home yet,” he said, touching down. “Friday check the date?”

“Six years have passed Mr. Stark,” said Friday. “It is now Thursday the 22nd in May of 2017.”

“Hope the kids have gotten into their high school of choice,” said Tony as he came in for a landing atop the building that had been Mei and Izuku’s lab. “All right, let’s see what we’ve got.”

Keying in his access command, he dropped through the ceiling door as he whistled. “Would you look at that.”

Several designs that they had worked on were now complete, suits that were already designed to be lightweight and protective. Repulsor tech was clear, but there was also a few projects in development. Stepping out of his suit, Tony went over to the holographic setup and brought up the schematics.

“Iron Lad 6.0. Huh, six versions by now. Must be because they’re working on things more slowly here. Friday, where’s Izuku and Mei now?”

“Mei’s transmitter is pointing towards Yuuhi High School. Presumably she has gotten in before Izuku,” replied Friday. “As for Izuku, he is on the road at the moment.” A pause and a note of alarm came into Friday’s voice. “Mr. Stark, I am detecting elevated stress levels from Izuku, along with a warning from his health monitor. Alert: Izuku is in danger of suffocation.”

Immediately Tony went over and suited up. “Lock in the coordinates, bring me to him.”

The flight over was terse as Tony searched the area, and soon found his target. Izuku’s unique life signs showed under a villain with liquid mass, a smoking gauntlet laying to the side. “Looks like this guy got the drop on the kid,” said Tony as he dropped down. “Hey, ugly!”

The liquid villain looked up in surprise as Tony’s suit powered up. “Get away from the kid,” he snarled seconds before a sonic pulse erupted from his shoulders, battering the villain.

“Iron Man!” Cried out Izuku, his mouth freed.

“I’ve never heard of this hero before, I gotta get out of here before…!” Exclaimed the villain seconds before the manhole cover popped and shot out, landing with a heavy clang.

“You took me through a huge amount of trouble, but don’t worry. For I am here!” Exclaimed the huge form that erupted from the ground.

“Warning, he’s about to attack, evasive maneuvers,” said Friday as Tony jetted out of the way.

“TEXAS SMASH!”

The resulting air pressure buckled the villain and knocked him into splatters, Tony avoiding most of them and brushing off the liquid. Izuku fell free and fortunately the new stranger had caught him. “Thanks,” said Tony, landing with a loud clang of his boots.

All Might looked up at him. “No, thank you for slowing down the villain. I was caught in a narrow passage when he escaped my sight. If it weren’t for your arrival, the young man would be in trouble.”

“Izuku Midoriya,” replied Tony. “And he’s a friend.”

“Indeed. I am All Might, although I’ve never met you before,” said All Might, picking up Izuku’s fallen notebook and scribbling a autograph. “What agency do you work with?”

“None at the moment,” replied Tony, raising his face mask. “Look, All Might, can I call you Mighty? I’m not from around here, and I’m trying to get home. Unfortunately a wormhole has been kind of pissing in my cornflakes at the moment, so I can’t use it to get back. Every time I go through it, I wind up here, a few years ahead of time.”

All Might frowned a little. “A wormhole? A stable corridor in time and space?”

“Pretty much,” replied Tony, stepping out of his suit. “I’m from another world, so I’m not licenced or anything here. I met Izuku when he was five, and again when he was nine. He’s got no Quirk, but he’s trying to be a hero.”

“I see. That’s a difficult thing to do without a Quirk,” said All Might, beginning to gather up the unconscious villain into the bottles from his grocery bags. “Your technology seems to make up for it though.”

“Oh yeah, and this is just a spare,” replied Tony. “The real stuff I can make with the right resources and take on the biggest stuff. Which reminds me, he idolizes you as much as he’s in love with my tech. See that there?” And he gestured at the fallen gauntlet which Tony picked up. “This is Izuku’s work. The kid’s got talent, and he's’ got a bunch of friends, Mei Hatsume, Ochako Uraraka, Eijiro Kirishima and Katsuki Bakugou. Mei’s at Yuuhi right now.”

“He wants to be a hero, Mighty,” added Tony as he used the gauntlet to scrape up more villain. “You gotta admit, a kid like this, working on his own stuff, building not one but six suits? These two kids have talent. And he and Mei have been working on supporting the other kids for a while now with support items.”

All Might nodded with a smile. “You know… I’m starting work at Yuuhi. Don’t tell anyone, but I can put in a good word, make his case.”

“If you could, the kid still wants to prove himself. Let him do that, and he’ll move mountains,” said Tony. “Deal?”

“Deal.” the men shook hands on it as they finished cleaning up the villain.

Minutes later, Izuku roused to the smacking of his cheek, gently, by All Might. “Hey, hey kid, wake up! Thought we lost you there for a moment.”

Izuku screamed at the top of his lungs in shock. “All Might?! Mr. Stark?! What are you two doing here?”

“You almost died kid,” said Tony with a shake of his head. “Fortunately Friday assured me your vitals are all right.”

“Your mentor here has convinced me to put in a good word for you, young Midoriya,” said All Might with his charismatic wide grin. “But now, I must depart. I need to deliver this villain to the authorities!”

“Wait, I have so many questions, I--!” With that, All Might leaped away. For a moment, Izuku faltered, but then exclaimed, “Mr. Stark I’m borrowing Friday!”

“Hey wait you just can’t… Friday don’t let him…” protested Tony but off Izuku went with the suit in an unstable flight trajectory. For a long moment, Tony stared before sighing. “I guess Friday just went along with it. She’s getting soft. Like I am.”

Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed into the system, ringing a number. “Hey Mei? It’s Tony. Yeah I’m back, just wanted to let you know that the kid stole my suit! Get a trace on it would you?”

=====

“There you are,” said Mei several hours later when Izuku got into the building. “We saw the news! You made headlines as the Invincible Iron Lad! Again!”

“Sorry,” said Izuku, rubbing his head as his mom grabbed him in a hug. “Mom, really I’m okay! All Might was there!”

“Oh my boy, my boy,” sobbed Inko as she hugged her son. “Mr. Stark, if I had known he would take the suit I--”

“It’s fine,” said Tony, as he looked up from his holographic workstation. “The kid’s not harmed, Katsuki’s alive thakfully and headed home, and All Might now owes ME a favor. After this, your work has taken the world by storm kid. Well, it’s my work, but you’re the one using it.”

“But it’s not my suit,” said Izuku, protesting. “I wouldn’t feel right.”

“Never fear about that, FOR I AM HERE!” Exclaimed All Might, bursting into the building.

“All Might! What are you doing here?” exclaimed Izuku, as Mei raised her goggles and Inko stared for a moment.

“Oh uh, I thought there’d be less people here,” said All Might suddenly before without warning, he deflated. Coughing up blood, he added, “Well, it was inevitable. I wasn’t thinking but young man, you did an incredible thing today. Helping stop the villain, the spirit of self sacrifice. Young Midoriya: you can become a hero.”

Izuku’s eyes watered at the proclamation as his mom gathered him into her arms. “You mean it, you really mean it?”

 

“Yes,” said All Might, walking up to him. “While it’s true that the technology did save you, there are many who are leery about accepting a hero into the fray without a Quirk of their own. So, Midoriya. I offer up mine.” Turning to Hatsume, he said, “You’re a student at Yuuhi, correct?”

“Almost. I’m basically going to BE a student, since I’m under visa. I’m Mei Hatsume,” said Mei, a wide grin on her face appearing. “I hadn’t thought you could offer up a Quirk. But scientifically, the possibility could be there.”

“Look, the kid should probably think about it but he would move mountains to help you out, Mighty,” said Tony, arms folded. “You took a risk visiting the warehouse, not knowing there were four people here right now instead of just Izuku.”

“True, I meant to cut him off beforehand, but it took me longer to get away from the press than expected.” said All Might sheepishly.

“And this Quirk you’re offering him. It’s like a silver platter, but I’d like some payoff Mighty,” replied Tony. “Lay it on the table: what is it, and what will it do to him?”

“Please, we have a right to know,” said Inko.

All Might exhaled. “The name of the Quirk is called One For All. It’s a power cultivated through several users. It grants the user prenatural might, thus the name. Those who accept it become the symbol of peace.”

“So it’s a legacy,” said Izuku. “All Might, I’ve seen what you were hiding, and I want to help. I’ll accept your Quirk.”

Tony sighed. “And what about becoming Iron Lad?” he teased.

Izuku flushed. “Well… I still want to pursue it. I mean, it’s been Mei and I’s dream to get into Yuuhi. She did into the Support course, and I want to go to the Hero course. But it was so much harder for me. And I can’t lag behind the others either.”

“Well… we’re going to have to run some tests then,” said Tony. “Start drawing up plans, designing armor, you can’t go out there without it. Your mom would throw me into the sun.”

Inko snickered. “Oh Mr. Stark, I wouldn’t do that…”

“Well, looks like we’ve got work to do,” said Tony finally with a sigh. “Mighty, get the kid ready. Hatsume? We’ve got work to do.”

“We need a name for this,” said Mei with a gleeful cackle that sent shivers up All Might’s spine. “What should we call it?”

Tony typed in a few words and swiped it out into the open for everyone to see. “Project Ironwood,” said Izuku. “Why ironwood?”

“Ironwood’s the strongest tree wood in the world, kid,” said Tony with a smug look of satisfaction. “Your suit is going to incorporate everything I can learn from Mighty. Mei, give me a hand with that.”

=====

Ochako Uraraka wouldn’t call herself a blessed child.

Born to a fairly hardworking family who owned a construction company, she had determined at a young age that her gravity Quirk would be the best thing to use to help them get a better life in the world. Despite this, they never quite understood her drive.

That was, until Tony Stark walked into their lives.

When he offered the Partnership, it was a risky move. Already strained for capital, the small company took a risk. But with the technology they provided, strength boosting equipment for Quirks, reinforcement for strength Quirks, moving technology for the Quirkless… it seemed like a dream. And all of it was funding equipment for her.

Brand new boots, built with these strange things called repulsor tech that allowed her to fly. Maneuvering thrusters for zero-g movement. She could summon Friday if she was in any trouble, getting a whole suit of armor. It seemed… almost unfair.

Which is why Ochako Uraraka had a new goal in life: to repay every cent that Tony Stark had invested into her family.

He was too generous with his money, the money coming in huge cheques which were being carefully produced in sums that would get the maximum return and the least amount of taxes. Uraraka Construction was receiving more and more requests for work from their Osaka branch, in order to build new branches. Money was flowing in.

And yet, it wasn’t enough for Ochako, who wanted more money, to repay Tony for everything he did for her. It was a pure, noble gesture to repay the man who shaped her future.

And then, just like that, he vanished for six years. Izuku Midoriya and Mei Hatsume said he went off on a long international business trip and wouldn’t be reachable for a very long time, but just like that, he returned recently, as Friday sent a push notification to her phone that morning of Izuku’s attack.

And then, she saw the news. The Invincible Iron Lad on the news, fighting the sludge monster hand in hand with All Might, saving Katsuki Bakugou. She recognized Friday immediately.

Tony was back from his trip.

Just in time, for her to start preparing to see Yuuhi.

With that in mind, Ochako Uraraka started to prepare once more, to get into Yuuhi High School, to earn the sum of 5 million American dollars, and repay every cent of it to Tony Stark.

======

The push notification came in as Kirishima was doing pushups. He didn’t watch the news but when he heard about it from Mina’s frantic text message about the Invincible Iron Lad making the news, he knew Izuku did something crazy with Friday again.

Friday meant Mr. Stark was back from the other world. Or he managed to never get home. Either way, he was back, and he was planning to see him before training was complete.

It seemed silly at first, pairing a hardening Quirk with a large shield, but as far as support items go, Tony said that a shield was also a good idea. When your Quirk ran its course, why not have something to hold onto? So, Kirishima carried around a shield.

Throwing it managed to become a challenge but he practiced, every single day until he could boomerang it, much to Tony’s chargin before he left. It gave Kirishima a ranged option that he didn’t have originally, a projectile that would come to benefit him later on. He was also thinking of changing his hero name from Red Riot to Captain Riot, in honor of Captain America and Crimson Riot.

He couldn’t wait to show Tony everything he learned, between his hardening Quirk and his shield throwing.

=====

Katsuki Bakugou stretched out, breathing deeply as he warmed up that morning in the crisp morning air. The push notification on his phone was all the notice he needed as his support items laid to the side, waiting to be equipped at a moment’s notice.

Izuku really did his best with those gauntlets, and Katsuki was impressed. He even had a cool new name for himself even though all of his previous names had been shot down.

He smirked, hands crackling for a moment with sparks as he clenched his fists. Time to show everyone what he was made off in this group. And to think, he would be in on the secret of All Might’s secret identity to boot, something that only a handful of people knew!

Katsuki’s fiendish grin masked his giddy glee as he was stretched out and limber, and he let out a ferocious yell before bounding down towards the beach, scooping up his things on the way there.

Time to show what he can do!

=====

Mei Hatsume was excited. With Tony back, this meant more time to work on things, and with the exams coming up to get into the Support Course, she was a shoe-in.

Her long tenure at Yuuhi’s Brilliant Minds Program had basically given her an inside look at the Development Program, spending summers there in between her own schooling. Izuku sometimes joined her, since he had also been scouted once in a while when their competition had reached a frantic point of razor edge scientific marvels.

Granted they had a leg up, working with unknown technology, but they had given it their own spin. Hatsume had her own flair to the dramatics, liking a very distinct hero-course like style with big jump jets and bulky frames despite the usual repulsors built into the systems. While Izuku liked the slender wraps of the Stark Industries mechanical designs. It was this design logic that made her first baby, the Hatsumesuit Mark 1 through 6. It was, to say the least, a old style classic that would look more on the level of a suit suited to this world than the sleek chassis of Tony’s world.

And yet, none could say who was the better designer.

For all intents and purposes, Mei and Izuku came up with wild dreams and feverish designs that would push the limits of creativity. And she loved that about him. He was her equal, the person who would drive her forward and vice versa.

Mei grinned, shutting her notebook and flopping into bed clutching it. Tomorrow was a big day. They were all getting together to show off what they learned now that Tony was back in town.

Tomorrow… was going to be the return of the Avengers.

=====

“You look like hell kid,” said Tony a few weeks later, as Izuku dragged himself back into the building.

“All Might’s regimen is really rough,” groaned Izuku. “And he caught me overworking myself too.”

“That’s what happens when you’re being reckless,” said Tony, working on his gauntlet with a welding torch. “You have a bad habit of being reckless.”

“Yeah I know,” mumbled Izuku. “How’s the mark 7 coming along?”

“Well, considering I’m not expecting you to flex and explode the armor off, it’s fair to say it’s coming along well. None of that Hulk nonsense mister.” he said, wagging his tool at Izuku before finishing up with the rest of the items on hand. “Okay, here, try this on.”

Izuku walked over and took the glove, placing it onto his hand. “Fits nicely,” said Izuku.

“Does more than fit nicely. It’s shock absorbant, which means that killer punch of yours, or will happen eventually, will in fact, be mitigated somewhat when you try it out. As long as you don’t shatter all your arms and legs, I’ll be happy.”

“C’mon I won’t do that,” said Izuku, laughing nervously. “I’m okay, really!”

“Right,” deadpanned Tony.

Izuku sweated under his gaze before coughing and clearing his throat. “I’ll say,” said Izuku. “In any case, we’ve got another six months of training. I’m going back to the beach in a while. Want me to stop by the house and tell mom you’ll be back for supper?”

“I’ll make due,” said Tony. “Gotta finish these stabilizers first. You go on ahead.”

Nodding, Izuku headed off, grinning a little.

As Izuku staggered away, the door opened again. “Pizza money’s on the doorstop,” said Tony.

“Got some before I came by,” replied Toshinori, the man already in his withered natural form as he carried over a takeout box. “Thought you might be hungry but if there’s food waiting for you at home…”

“Inko would have a plate for me anyhow. I’m just working on a shock absorber gauntlet for Izuku. I figure repulsors won’t do him any good, not when he’s going to be punching things now.” said Tony.

“Actually I’ve swung by to give you the number of an old friend of mine.” said Toshinori, placing down a card and sliding it over to Tony. “David Shield. He’s the foremost expert on support items in this world. His work would rival yours. He knows a lot about my Quirk, although none of the messy details.”

“You think he would want in on Project Ironwood?” asked Tony. “You know how tech heads and I butt heads all the time. Power Loader and I don’t get along.”

“That’s because you see eye to eye with Young Hatsume.” replied Toshinori with a snort. “Listen, I know that the rest of the hero community doesn’t know you like I do. I’ve introduced you to a couple of people from Yuuhi just to get your feet wet. But the rest of the community doesn’t know a damn thing about Iron Man or Iron Lad. Only that it’s a guy in a suit; a powerful one.”

“Should I press conference? Go up to the podium and say I am Iron Man? I’ve done it before.” said Tony.

“That’s completely up to you,” said Toshinori. “In all seriousness, maybe you should get a hero license if you--”

“NO.” the empathic NO was clear. “Sorry big guy, Mighty, just no. Back home, I pushed for licensed heroes, and it got me into a lot of problems I don’t want to deal with. Basically it messed me right up and I got played: that’s the end of that story.”

“I see.” He could see it in his eyes, a whole boat-load of pain. If misery was a opera, it would be singing soprano right about now. “Sorry to bring it up.”

“You didn’t know. I’m still kind of processing it still. It’s been… what, 6 months? My time at least. These time jumps really mess with a guy.”

“You going to be okay? You have that little club meeting with the kids tomorrow.” said Toshinori. “I should come along, to make sure that you don’t fall asleep while that happens.”

“Well, I could probably use another pair of eyes. And Izuku could use some more pointers since you’re working him through that All American Dream Plan of yours.” said Tony, pausing to rub his eyes. “I’ll finish up here and get to dinner. You go get some rest. Honestly you look worse than Bruce at his worst right now.”

“That’s the one who you said turns into a rage monster right?” said Toshinori. “I’ll make sure not to do that tomorrow.”

======

If Dagobah Beach was cleaned up, it would have been here.

Instead, the southern part of the beach, Hoth Surf Spot was being used for this little excursion. The reasoning being that the soft impacted sand would provide cushioning for any falls, bumps, bruises and other Quirk-related powers.

To ensure this was a simple training thing, and it was perfectly legal, Toshinori had gotten a friend of his to “judge” the situation. Said friend was a incredibly worn out man who made Toshinori look like he was healthy as a songbird. From his yellow sleeping bag, Shouta Aizawa sipped a juice box as he was propped up on a bench, watching the four kids warm up.

“This is going to be a disaster,” he intoned. He could already tell who had the fighting training, who didn’t, and yet, it was more of a competition than anything else. A miniature Yuuhi Sports Festival than a straight up knock down brawl.

In this corner was Ochako Uraraka, who hadn’t quite gotten over that All Might, Toshinori Yagi, was a tired looking man, or that they had wrangled Eraserhead for their judge. She was dressed in a warm looking tracksuit, with several devices fixed around her temples, wrists, and neck with a pair of repulsor boots on her feet and fingerless repulsor gloves on her hands for her Quirk. The overall idea behind her zero-g Quirk was Flight, and the gloves for stability, with open parts for her fingers to touch for contact. The rest of the devices would stimulate the nerve-endings in her body, lessening the nausea centers of her body during zero gravity situations.

In another corner was stretching out Eijiro Kirishima. He had gone shirtless for this, with track pants but he wore his shield around his shoulders with leather reinforced straps. The special coated alloy similar to vibranium that Tony had found in this world was still holding up, and Eijiro was prepared for the competition. He was also super jazzed about meeting Eraserhead and All Might, and was totally fine with All Might’s secret.

Mei was suited up in a full Mark 4, the suit sort of resembling a tin can. It was all white, with a helmet that flipped open and a facemask that resembled the Iron Man appearance, but that was where the resemblance ended. It was suited for her Quirk with thrusters, grappling hooks, and all of the Mei-style bells and whistles, and she was preparing the paintball weaponry. Repulsors were at max and the new element generator in the chest was shining brightly.

Katsuki was dressed in a pair of dark camo pants and a tank top, but the collection gauntlets, once thought up as big grenades were slimmed down to thinner, more compact devices that would collect his sweat into containers. Walking glycerine containers. But a regulatory switch was used, which had an added bonus that would turn his attacks from a explosion or a small crackle into a flamethrower. There was an inbetween setting for different settings and intensity, and with the right ability, Katsuki could fly for limited bursts. It was a bit of a marvel, and he insisted on calling himself Equinox whenever he was “suited up”. Where he got that name, was thanks to Ochako suggesting the name.

And finally, Izuku stood in his new Iron Lad Mark 6. Sleek, stylish, and designed similar to a Stark Industries suit, it was designed so that the suit would be reinforced for punches. It had a numerous amount of suppression devices built in, and paintball weaponry for practice. Flight thrusters and flares, as well as flared boots for kicking since Tony pointed out that what happens if you break your arm with a 100% punch. Painted a dark green color over the burnished gold metal that it was originally, it was sort of rabbit themed with a vague resemblance to…

All heads turned towards Toshinori, who coughed and laughed behind his hand.

Izuku blushed behind his mask. “I like it okay?”

“Dude, it looks awesome,” said Kirishima. “Right, Mr. Stark?”

“I would have painted it hot rod red myself but hey, it looks great on you kid.” said Tony. “Okay kids. Sound off. What’s your names in the field?”

“Rescue!” Exclaimed Mei, going first, pumping a fist into the air. “I modeled my suit after Thirteen’s aesthetic, but it’s more geared towards support than pure combat so it comes with hacking devices.”

“Uravity,” said Ochako. “Combination of my last name and Gravity, so Uravity!”

“I was going to go Lord Explodo-Kills but that’s too long,” snorted Katsuki. “So I’m going for Equinox thanks to round-cheeks.”.

“Captain Riot, in honor of Captain America and Crimson Riot, my two favorite heroes,” said Eijiro proudly. “Look, I even got the shield painted!” He hit it with a dull thump, the shield gleaming with the Riot R painted with a conclave of patriotic red rings.

Izuku clenched his fist. “Iron Lad. I’m not prepared for any other name just yet. But I promise, Mr. Stark, All Might, I’m going to shout to the heavens I Am Here when the time comes.”

These kids, thought Shouta Aizawa to himself. They have the SPARK. And they’re not even in Yuuhi yet. “Well then,” he said, getting out of his sleeping bag. “We should start this obstacle course. Get ready you five.”

Preparing, the five lined up, looking at the obstacle course set up, all the way through into Dagobah Beach, and the junk pile that laid ahead.

“Go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published 4/2/2019
> 
> I cut this chapter into two parts, seeing how it would better flow with some editing. There's some crossover with some other marvel elements, and I figured it would work better in the end. Especially since the next chapter is still in progress.
> 
> The actual villain of this storyline has already been determined, and has been for a long time now. And will be revealed in due time.


	3. Kings and Vagabonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life proceeds as normal, in the house of Midoriya-Stark but things have begun to stir...

Saidai Aorai was a normal guy, or at least as normal as he could be when it came to working in the field of electrical repair. Get up, go to work, duck a hero attack, apologize to your boss when you’re late.

When a villain suddenly appears because of stress in the field, Saidai sighs as he rings up his phone. “I’m sorry sir, I’m going to be late, the rails are shut down! Yes, it’s a villain attack!”

The reply he got was scathing, but resigned. And Saidai sighed a little, tucking his phone into his pocket. “This sucks,” the man in the suit said as Mt. Lady took out the villain with a Canyon Cannon for her debut. He didn’t even have a moment to appreciate the appearance of the overly large and rather attractive heroine in her debut.

Walking down the street, Saidai sighed. “Man, I’m not going to get into work until noon at this rate. I should take the day off. What to do…”

A sudden crackling noise filled the air as he turned, a faint halo of electrical discharge in a light blue corona of energy filling the air for a brief moment alerting him of bare wires. “Huh? Damage here?”

Saidai went over, and held out his hand. He had a minor electrical quirk which could drain energy, and he touched it to safely siphon electrical power away. “I’d better call this in,” he said, picking up his phone as he did so.

The blue lightning suddenly crackled outwards, and Saidai had a moment to yell as he was consumed in blue light…

======

Tony Stark was bored out of his mind, as he was working on a new project.

The mood in the house was a little tense, as Izuku had returned from the exam with his arm in a sling, and Ochako and Katsuki practically dragging him home with an exhausted look on his face. Inko had dragged the story out of him.

During the exam, Izuku had decided that saving people was more important that getting villain points, and for whatever reason, the rest of the Mini Avengers had followed suit. This had caused a catastrophic meltdown of epic proportions as whole swathes of people started helping one another. But it didn’t stop with just Izuku’s examination area.

Katsuki had decided the best way to outshine Izuku was to help people, and he had kickstarted his own campaign of helping in his own loud way. Mei was helping others as well, in her Rescue Armor Mark 2 in her own zone. Eijiro in his own as well. Ochako was in the same zone as Izuku and she was on board with Izuku’s plan right from the get go. None of them had any idea that there were rescue points involved, otherwise this would have been a calculated move by Tony to get them more points.

According to All Might who sent a message in a hurried text, it was complete and utter chaos. Not even the Zero Pointer was enough to deter the helping.

In the end, this year was generally the first time people got more rescue points all around as a passing grade.

Shouta Aizawa couldn’t have been more impressed by this turn of events, even if he had to dock Izuku rescue points for nearly breaking his arm with the use of One for All.

Tony had laughed himself sick after this, when All Might had given him a phone call shortly after the test had been graded.

“Friday bring up the police scanner, set it to villains only,” replied Tony.

The usual chatter could be heard as Tony listened in halfway for a moment. The usual chatter was on the radio: villain call incoming, police responders and hero first responders. No major problems, a power fluctuation in Grid E-74 in Toshley Station… huh…

Frowning, Tony enhanced the sound.

“Reports are coming in. People are saying a man with an electrical Quirk is siphoning up energy at Toshley Station. Requesting backup. No immediate Heroes are in the area. I repeat, no immediate Heroes are in the area.”

“Friday bring up the power grid,” said Tony as he dialed into the city’s system.

Toshley Station powered the hospitals. And hospitals meant sick children and ailing adults and seniors.

Tony made his choice as he said, “Friday, activate the mark 9.”

======

Electricity coursed through Saidai’s body as he groaned, feeding off the energy from the power station. It felt amazing, and yet, he needed more. More and more. The police who came to stop him couldn’t stop him, and no heroes were around to stop him. He was home free and yet… why was he doing this?

All he could feel was hunger. Hunger for more energy.

Thrusting out his hand, he let the energy flow as suddenly, Tony dropped from the skies and said, “Hey sparky, I would stop if I were you.”

Turning around, Saidai regarded Tony with a faint interest but he stared hungrily at the element in his chest. So much power… it looked delicious. “You…” said Saidai, pointing.

“Me? I don’t think you know me,” said Tony, holding up his hands and firing, knocking Saidai into a wall.

Saidai hit the wall with a thud, but pulled himself out of it with a groan, lightning crackling around it as he chuckled. “Your energy… give it to me.”

“Sorry, this buffet is closed,” said Tony, flying upwards. “Come and get it sparky.”

Without warning, a steel beam slammed into Tony as he was knocked from the sky, as Saidai had electromagnetized it and swung it like a baseball bat. “Evasive maneuvers boss,” replied Friday a half second too late.

“No kidding!” Exclaimed Tony, squeaking out from under the beam a half second before it crashed down without him below it. “All right if that’s how you want to play it! Suppressants!”

His new Mark 9 was designed for suppressing enemies with Quirks, and his shoulders popped open with mini missiles. Locking on and firing a round, it crashed around Saidai, exploding into rapidly expanding hardening adhesive.

Saidai struggled before ripping free with surprising strength, and he fired a beam of electrical blue energy. “Analyze that!” shouted Tony as he captured a picture of it in his visor as he dodged.

“C’mon sparky you’re making this harder than it needs to be!” Exclaimed Tony, dodging more focused beams of electrical power. “Friday I could use a solution right about now.”

“Grounding him would be a good idea, boss,” replied Friday.

“Why didn’t I think of that,” replied Tony. “But I don’t have a way to do that.”

Saidai fired another beam of lightning and suddenly, without warning, stopped, and began to twitch. “Huh, out of batteries?” remarked Tony. “Friday, load more suppressants.”

But without warning, Saidai yelled and exploded into a corona of energy and Tony’s hud erupted into warnings as everything went black.

Tony dropped like a rock.

======

“Tony… Tony….!”

Tony groaned as he opened his eyes, squinting in the light as someone shone a light onto his face. “He’s awake,” said the voice which seemed to ring in his ears. “Careful now. Easy Tony.”

“Whozat?” asked Tony, his voice slurring.

“Easy, you just got hit with an EMP blast that shorted your suit and knocked you unconscious with the fall.” replied the voice. “Rest up now.”

Tony groaned as his vision realigned itself as he focused on the haggard appearance of Shouta Aizawa crouched over him. “Raggity Ann? That you?”

“Your sense of humor isn’t dulled I see,” replied Shouta. “Can you sit up?”

“Yeah.” Carefully Tony sat up. “What happened?”

“The electrical villain knocked out the power grid. Fortunately backups in the hospitals kicked in sooner. If you hadn’t distracted him long enough, we wouldn’t have had enough time to reroute power.” said a second voice, and Tony focused on a small furry animal in a suit? Ah, Nedzu. The Yuuhi principal. “Clean up crews are here, and the city owes you a debt of gratitude. There is of course, the problem of vigilantism but…”

Tony sighed. “Can’t really sign up with your boys and girls club you know that Nedzu.”

“I know that,” replied Nedzu. “The police don't like it either, but we’ll make due. Now then. What happened. Recount to us in detail what happened.”

Tony recalled the fight, explaining what happened, pausing for a moment before saying, “Something seems… strange, off by even normal standards. Like, the guy was chained. I’ve seen that kind of zombie-like quality before.”

“You’re saying… you’ve fought an enemy before like this?” asked Nedzu.

“I can’t say for certain, not until I get Friday back online. But once I analyze the blasts he was throwing at me, I only have a hunch.” said Tony. “Can you keep the cops off my back till then?”

“I’ll do my best.” said Nedzu. “Aizawa-sensei, can you please drive Mr. Stark back home? His family must be very worried for him right now.”

“Of course. C’mon. Up you go.”

On the drive home, Tony was mostly silent as he was in thought. An EMP blast strong enough to knock Friday offline? That couldn’t be. Friday was strong and shielded enough to take on Thor head-on and survive. If anything, something was up.

“Something on your mind?” asked Aizawa as they turned the corner and stopped in front of the Midoriya’s. “You’ve been silent the whole time. And you’ve got that look on your face that says I don’t like this.”

“Something’s been bothering me. What kind of Quirk could have knocked me out? Clearly this is stronger than an EMP.” said Tony. “Friday’s shielded from EMP. I shouldn’t have been knocked out from something as simple as a blast.”

“You are using materials from our world,” said Aizawa. “None of your fancy materials from your world.”

“That’s just it. I’ve adapted the tech. I’ve done the math. There is no possible way I could have…” Tony grimaced. “You know what? Forget it. I’m gonna go inside, get a burrito from the freezer, and mull this over for a few hours until Inko forces me to go to sleep.”

“You’re going to make her worry,” said Aizawa as Tony got out of the tiny car and stretched his legs with a pop.

“I’ll take that risk. I have ways of handling women like her. She’s just like Pepper.” replied Tony before heading inside.

Aizawa watched him go, and said before pulling away, “Yeah, but you’re dating Pepper, Tony. Inko’s not your girlfriend.”

=====

A week later, there was a party happening at a restaurant.

With the friends and family of all of the Avengers, everyone was gathered at a local family restaurant with the family members of the teenagers who had gotten into their respective courses, and plates were being passed around as a huge amount of food had been ordered.

“-- and then Izuku just shoots into the sky like some kind of god, and smashes the Zero-Pointer like the Hulk! It was so awesome!” Exclaimed Kirishima, describing it to Uraraka’s parents as he gestured with his chopsticks. “The Avengers all passed, and we’re going to totally rock our courses.”

“I hope we’re all in the same class,” said Uraraka as she chewed on her food, “It would suck if we were all separated.”

“I know, right?” said Kirishima. “What do you think, Bakugou?”

“As long as you guys don’t hold me back,” said Bakugou with a smirk. “But damn that test was fun. I can’t wait to cut loose again!”

“You kids sure had fun huh?” said Uraraka’s mom, Megumi. “So, Mr. Stark, what’s on your mind? Are you planning on continuing to build?”

“That, and I have a few more problems to work out on my end,” replied Tony.

“Problems?” asked Kirishima’s father, a solidly built man named Tsuki.

“Tony is an inventor,” said Inko. “He’s brought in money for the family for quite some time. He’s a genius rivaling David Shield actually. And is partnered with the Uraraka’s.”

“Wait, so you’re saying you’re Stark, of Stark Industries?” asked Kirishima’s mother, a more heavyset woman named Alice. “Dear, we invested in that fledgling company when it came on the news.”

“I seeded that company six years ago and released time-release patents,” said Tony, taking a bite of his tofu. “Since then, I’ve been working on new things since then.”

“Mr. Stark I don’t think you know how important that company is,” said Tsuki. “Have you noticed how much it is worth now?”

Tony grinned. “Top rival business to Shield Tech? Highest rival to the inventor genius Power Loader? I get that. Quirkless wonder Tony Stark, the literal Iron Man? That’s me.”

“For no lack of ego,” said Izuku with a faint worried grin.

“Easy on the ego Tony,” said Inko with a poke to his side.

“Just saying how it is, Inko,” said Tony with a bit of his old bravado. “But you have to be fearless on the markets or the investors will eat you alive.”

The group shared a laugh as Tony ate. Just then, the power flickered a little as Tony’s glasses lit up. “Boss,” said Friday. “There’s a familiar power fluctuation in the grid.”

“Excuse me,” said Tony, getting up. “I need to take a call.”

Excusing himself, he went to the side as he said, “Friday what are we looking at?”

“Power fluxuations across the grid, Boss. There’s a high risk of another outage. Sparky’s back draining the grid.”

“Pinpoint his location, notify the police. Call… wait… no, activate the new suit.”

“Are you sure boss?” said Friday as Tony fished out a triangle shaped device from his pocket. “It hasn’t been tested yet.”

“Well consider this a testrun.” Returning to the table, he said, “Sorry to cut and run everyone, but I have some important business to take care of. Seems like, something’s come up and I need to go bust some heads.”

“Mr. Stark, is it that villain again?” asked Izuku, looking worried.

“Are you going to be okay?” asked Uraraka. “You were shot down by an EMP last time!”

“It’s okay kids,” said Tony, placing the device on his chest. “Papa Tony’s got this under control. Friday? Activate the new suit.”

And nanotech began to crawl across his body, shocking everyone in range as it formed over his body as the nanites formed over his frame, locking into place until it reached his neck. And then, the helmet slid over his face in one smooth motion seconds before Tony reached down to his plate, grabbed his bread and took a bite. “For the road,” he said, seconds before the helmet finished forming.

And with that, Tony headed out the door, pausing the pay the bill before jetting off into the sky.

“And that is why Tony Stark is the most over the top,” said Mei to the stunned people in the room.

=====

“Round two sparky!” Exclaimed Tony, crashing down atop the villain without any other warning other than the thudding strands of Black Sabbath.

Saidai lurched forward, being driven several meters forward into the dirt as Death Arms shielded his face from the impact. “Iron Man,” greeted Death Arms, the Pro looking winded from his bout with the villain who had decided to fight the draining electrical man. “I thought you weren’t interested in heroing professionally.”

“Well sparky and I have some unfinished business.” replied Tony, being blasted backwards seconds after his statement but the suti held. “Friday!”

Suppresants fired, and Saidai returned fire with a blast of electricity he drew from the nearby downed power cables “He’s feeding off the grid, get the authorities to shut down the power for about five blocks!” shouted Tony.

“Can’t, there’s a hospital two blocks from here! It’s connected to the grid.” retorted Death Arms.

“Well shit.” said Tony, darting away from another shot of electrical blue energy. “I’m going to take him outside the strike zone then. Meet me at Tatooin Station!”

With a yell, Tony tackled Saidai, taking him up into the air and zooming off into the distance as Death Arms grabbed a radio from his pouch. “I need all electrical power sources around Tattoin Station shut down, now! It’s an emergency!”

Tony grit his teeth as the electrical discharge raked across his body, but minutes later, he slammed Saidai into the ground at the damaged shopping center where Izuku had rescued Katsuki a few weeks ago. “Sorry about the mess!” He shouted, hauling up Saidai as his Unibeam charged. “But this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you!”

The beam fired, driving Saidai into the building, and crashing him through several blocks before punching him through the outermost wall of the shopping center and into the street. People who were already standing around backed up in surprise as Tony came walking through the hole in the building as Saidai tried to stand up.

“Stay down,” said Tony, scanning the crowd to make sure that no one was within grabbing range before advancing on Saidai who was trying to stand up. “You’re draining power from everything. I want answers. What’s your game?”

“I… need more power,” groaned Saidai, trying to stand. “Need more… the blue… light calls to me…”

That made Tony stop for a moment. “Blue light…?”

“Boss,” said Friday suddenly. “I have your analysis.” And Friday brought it up and Tony paled.

“No… no no no!” Exclaimed Tony loudly as Saidai stood.

“I want… ALL THE POWER IN THE WORLD!” Yelled Saidai, driving himself into the air, and zooming out of sight as Tony was unable to stop him, leaving the man feeling helpless to go after him.

As the Pro Heroes arrived, Death Arms caught up to Tony who retracted his helmet. “Iron Man,” he said, concerned at the man’s horrified expression. “What’s wrong? He got away but…”

“I… sorry I need a moment… excuse me.” Tony walked away, gathering his thoughts among the crowd taking pictures as he ran a hand through his hair.

Sitting down on a piece of rubble, Tony breathed deeply. “No… not again… don’t make me do this all over again… please... “ He rubbed his eyes as memories suddenly began to pour into his mind.

‘I love you 3000…’

“Not another Infinity Stone…” breathed Tony, hands in his face as the Iron man wept in public.

Death Arms watched, and with all the grace he could muster, turned to the crowd. “Everyone, let’s give Iron Man his space. No more pictures please.”

=====

Saidai stumbled through the alley, holding the tatters of his suit to him. Why he was doing this? What was he doing? And more importantly, he needed more energy.

More of that blue stuff. More of that.

And then he found it. Another seam of it, running strong through a building as he clasped his hand to the wall and drew it out of the building, the power singing through his body as the seam of blue went dark.

That blue stuff was great. It made him feel strong. It made him feel powerful. Electrical. Electrified.

No.

“I am… Electro.” said Saidai, clarity blossoming in his mind.

He was Electro.

And he would not fail in his mission.

=====

TO BE CONTINUED

=====


End file.
